Ex Earlies keyboardist and ‘amiable drunkard‘, Christian Madden has just released his debut solo album and it’s an absolute stonker. ‘The Wrecking Place‘ is a 12 track instrumental concept album described as, “providing the soundtrack to a string of unimportant events that took place in Burnley between 1985 and 2004“. It’s a humble pitch but always better to under promise and over deliver.

From start to finish the album runs amok across a variety of genres with ease, tipping a hat to funk, jazz, hip-hop, breakbeat, and prog rock without ever seeming like some rag bag collection of random thoughts. It’s a beautifully well crafted journey through Madden’s musical loves and adventures.